June 16, 2014

Over Snyder's dead body

By Darin GanttAt a time when public pressure seems greater than ever, Redskins owner Dan Snyder seems to be digging in deeper on the subject of his team’s nickname.

During an interview with Jim Rome on Showtime this week, NBC Sunday Night Football play-by-play man Al Michaels was asked if he thought Snyder would try to hang onto the name despite the complaints.

“It seems to me as if he is going to hold on,” Michaels said, via the Washington Post. “I mean all of the sudden—I mean, for 70-some odd years this was a zero issue, and then it became an issue. I understand we live in this politically correct environment. It’s crazier than ever; you know, senators want to weigh in on this, like there’s nothing better to do in Congress. This becomes a big issue. I mean, I just think it’s nuts.

“And I do know, I’ve talked to Snyder about it—not recently but when we were in Washington last year—and he basically said ‘over my dead body.’”

The defiant stance is nothing new from Snyder, which is unsurprising since rich people seldom like hearing they’re wrong.

But when respected players (and former players) such as Champ Bailey chime in, and name-change commercials air during the NBA Finals to a nationwide audience, at some point the voices may turn into a roar that Snyder can no longer pretend to not hear.Michaels is wrong that the name suddenly became an issue. So is every Redskins apologist who falsely claims white liberal do-gooders have invented the controversy. Here's the proof:

By Mike FreemanAs a child, I rooted for the team and didn't care about the nickname. As a teen, the same. In my 20s, the same. After the DNA test, in my 30s, the change was sudden and transformational.

I was related to the people that were being caricatured. The moment was instructive in many ways. It showed, to me, the hypocrisy of a black man ignoring a slur his entire life because a football team meant so much to him.

It showed something else. I looked around at the diversity in my life, which was extensive, and noticed something: Long into my adulthood, there were few American Indians in my life. There was no one to express their displeasure.

And this is a key point in my change, and in the argument overall. Since the American Indian population is around 1 percent of the total in the U.S., it's safe to assume most of the people who have expressed their support of the nickname have never had a face-to-face discussion with someone of American Indian heritage who disagrees with it.

It's one thing to read in a newspaper the objections of American Indians, or see it on television. It is another to have someone voice his or her displeasure to your face.

By Thomas BarrabiJust a week after his scathing, 13-minute rant against FIFA, HBO host John Oliver mocked Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's refusal to change his franchise’s team name.

Oliver, who hosts “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, made note of a commercial aired by a California Native American tribe during Game 3 of the 2014 NBA Finals. The ad, titled “Proud To Be,” makes a critical reference to Snyder’s continued use of the “Redskins” moniker for his NFL franchise, despite repeated pleas from America’s Native American community.

“The strongest possible pushback after watching something amazing like that is, ‘You’re right, you’re right, we’ve got to change the name.’ But one person remains unmoved, and unfortunately, he is the only one that matters,” Oliver said, in a reference to Snyder.

Oliver went on to refer to Snyder as “Chief Runs-Without-Moral Compass.” The HBO host then aired a fake “commercial” full of examples of indefensible arguments. The entire four-minute segment can be viewed below.